


get up, it's not the end (it will soon be over)

by oofmybones



Category: Star Wars, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon Compliant, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fix-It, Fluff, Force Bond (Star Wars), Force-Sensitive Poe Dameron, Gen, Jedi Finn (Star Wars), Light Angst, M/M, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Spoilers, The Force
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-07
Updated: 2020-05-07
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:33:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24053698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oofmybones/pseuds/oofmybones
Summary: It feels so safe.[ TROS rewrite, aka what would've happened if Disney didn't fuck shit up.]
Relationships: Poe Dameron & Finn & Rey, Poe Dameron/Finn
Comments: 2
Kudos: 32





	get up, it's not the end (it will soon be over)

**Author's Note:**

> sooo hello!! i am not dead. so after getting angry at tros again i deicded i will write a fic that basically rewrites a lot of it. things to take note before reading this are:  
> \+ in this fic, tlj and tros happened differently. this is just an alternate ending to tros that i am putting out for now. i may rewrite tlj & tros if i could, it depends.  
> \+ i haven't actually watched tros, so this might have some inconsistencies with the film. i didn't wanna watch it sooooo  
> \+ i wrote this in under 7 hours or more so excuse the mistakes!!! i didn't proofread this LMAOOO
> 
> so anyways, ENJOY!!!

* * *

Rey falls back and is down on the ground, still shaking, weakening second per second as exhaustion & pain sags her body. Her lightsaber is too far to reach & she is weak. She cannot go on. She's going to lose, disappoint Leia & the Resistance, destroy everything the Resistance has ever worked hard for — and lose Finn & Poe, the only people she has left. She is going to let Palpatine win & prove that she that she truly isn't the jedi that Luke says she is. It's all crashing down, and it's going to be her fault.

She looks at them, fighting against Kylo Ren. She knows Finn is terrified of him, for what Kylo has done to him before. She knows that Poe had once been Kylo's friend, but now has become his enemy. She thinks of a world wherein this wasn't the way it was all supposed to end, wherein this wasn't how they lived, and wherein.. they weren't close to dying.

Rey has never felt peace even when she was still in Jakku, and away from all of this mess. Everyday was a struggle to keep herself alive, in hopes of meeting her parents again, and in hopes of knowing what was it that was making her hold on without purpose. In a split second, she thinks of what her life could've been, had this hadn't been the world she was born in, had this never been her every waking hour. 

She thinks of what Finn & Poe would've been too, having normal lives & not trying to pass day by day keeping constant vigilance against evil which was creeping behind closed doors. Finn would've had a family, a birthday, and many other things — a life that wasn't all blood & stormtrooper white. Poe would've been a pilot, but not a soldier — he would've been the same man, but without all the trauma and the loss, and would've experienced freedom in a way that he didn't have to fly to feel it.

But of course, things never go the way she wants. And alas, things will never be better, because she wasn't. She wasn't better, much less best. Unkar Plutt was right, Palpatine was right — they were all right. Rey was not good enough.

For a second, there's a bit of light. "Rey," she hears, in the distance, the voice once a memory but now is ringing in her ears as if she has only heard it for the first time, and she sees the same familiar but kind face in her dreams lately, "get up." 

It's as if time stands still. She heaves in a breath, her lungs struggling to keep the air in, her limbs trying not to go limp for the last time. Her hair sticks to her forehead, sweat trickling down her temples, and she gets up, her eyes fiery with determination once again. No, she isn't going to lose. No, she isn't going to let Palpatine tell her who she is. She may have his blood in her veins, but she isn't him, and she will never be. She will never let anyone dictate her future and tell her who Rey is, because she knows. She is Rey, and Rey will do what is right. That same Rey is someone who is guided by the light of the Force.

She grits her teeth together, and turns around, holding her hand out — summoning Kylo's now abandoned lightsaber with the Force on her fingertips — and charges forward, delivering the final blow.

Kylo Ren slumps to the ground on his knees, his own lightsaber lodged in his chest, through his heart that has long been consumed by the darkness of the Force. Rey pities him. They could've been friends in a different lifetime, with Finn and with Poe, but unfortunately, the world was too harsh for wishful thinking.

Kylo doesn't say anything when he dies, mouth full of blood & eyes still as empty as the day Rey met him. She looks at him in disdain, feeling no regret. She dislodges his lightsaber, turns it off, and throws it away, far away, as Kylo Ren took his last breath. And with that, it was over.

It was finally over. With more heaving breaths, Rey feels her own cold tears stain her soot-covered face. She doesn't know why she's crying, whether it is out of joy or relief, or if she just was holding it in for so long and now the dam broke. She falls to her knees, sobbing in her hands, taking her back to that old memory in Jakku where she was crying too when her parents left. But its all different now, as there's no sand pooling around her, and now she isn't alone either. 

She has her family with her now.

+++

Poe feels the ache of his muscles seep into his bones, his body almost feeling numb all over. It wasn't over. He still needed to fight. They need him to. He was not going to let everything end this way. He only had Rey and Finn for a while, and he can't lose them. God knows he will never let anyone take them away from him too. 

Hope is not all lost. Hope is never lost, Leia told him. He cannot disappoint one of the people whom has never to see the good & potential in him, whom has trusted him with her life and has treated him as her son for many years. He may have never succeeded in helping Kylo return to the light again, never succeeded in bringing his old best friend Ben back, never succeeded in bringing Leia her son back — but he promised Leia he will never fail her. And so, he won't.

Rey is down, and her lightsaber is askew, and Finn is on the verge of losing in a lightsaber fight with Kylo Ren. No. He can't let Kylo win. Not this time, and not in any other time ever again. He doesn't want a repeat of what happened to Finn last time, and he doesn't want to lose Rey. Not them too.

He reaches his hand out for Rey's lightsaber, trying to move his body so that he can get it. Once he grabs hold of the holster, he feels the thrum, the erring vibration of the Force. He feels a connection between himself and the lightsaber, a pleasant and comforting reminder of his being Force-sensitive. Leia told him that he was Force-sensitive before she passed away in his arms with a sad smile on her face, reminding him of his own mother when she had, too, died. 

Poe is best with a blaster or a gun, and he wasn't trained with a lightsaber, but he can't sit by and watch his friends die. Poe isn't a coward, and he will never back down from a fight, especially a fight with Kylo Ren.

He runs, letting his instincts take over, and swings the lightsaber in his hands at Kylo's back while he is still occupied with Finn. He manages to slice at his back as payback for what he did to Finn, and to bring Kylo's attention to him. He meets Finn's eyes fiercely, seeing suprise written on his handsome features, and somehow.. pride. 

Kylo wrings back in pain, wincing, and charges up at Poe, clashing his red lightsaber to Poe's borrowed blue one. Kylo's eyes are so different from when they were kids: no light is found in them anymore, and they were empty. Poe remembers those summers in Yavin 4, whenever Leia & Han visited with Ben, and they played their days away. Poe remembers the childhood promise they had that they will join the Resistance when they're older and make their parents proud. So much of a promise that was, he thinks.

And now, everything was so different. Poe fulfilled his end, Kylo didn't. The same Ben that Poe used to know was the same Kylo who killed his own father, and forcibly tortured Poe and his friends. It hurt knowing he turned to the darkness just that easily. Poe hasn't forgiven Kylo for that yet, and for the many things Kylo had done after. Poe thinks that maybe he will never forgive him.

Por grits his teeth, fighting hard to not get singed by the lightsabers. He fights Kylo off, and then Finn clashes with Kylo, red against white. Poe moves, trying to get another hit at Kylo but gets deflected, losing grip of Rey's lightsaber. He looks at Finn and nods at him. Finn manages to swipe Kylo's lightsaber from his hand, and passes it to Poe with a shout of Poe's name. The feel of Kylo's lightsaber isn't pleasant nor comforting like Rey's, but its the only one he's got.

They both manage to pin Kylo down, almost able to cut off Kylo's neck. However, their attempt is futile, and they get thrown off by Kylo using the Force.

He feels his body throb in pain once again, his chest heaving breath by breath as he tries to get up. Finn is also wincing in pain on the ground, too far from Poe. Poe has lost grip of Kylo's lightsaber, and this time his body can't move enough to reach it. For once, Poe feels like he can't go on. He has almost used up all his energy & he might pass out soon. But he has to keep going, has to get up again, has to do this for Leia & the Resistance & his friends, for the galaxy.

He can't fail them, not them as well—

When he looks up, he sees Rey charging up to Kylo, with Kylo's lightsaber now in her hands, and she does it. She impales Kylo with rage on her graceful features, and with disdain, watches him die. She's shaking as she throws Kylo's lightsaber away, and then collapses to the ground, sobs wracking her body. 

He then glances at Finn, who is looking right back at him, and Poe feels a small smile crawl up his face. They did it. They won. The First Order is defeated, Palpatine lost. Poe has never been as happy.

Finn smiles back, looking pretty as ever even with grime and sweat, and Poe feels his heart skip a beat. He was thankful they had survived. He will never be able to live with himself if he hadn't told Finn what he felt before they couldn't. It would've been enough regret to die in vain with the knowledge that Palpatine has won, but it would add insult to the wound if he had died before even knowing his feelings were mutual.

This time when Poe gets up, he feels tired. Adrenaline is flowing in his veins & his muscles feel like they were going to fall off. He and Finn make their way to Rey and crouch down to her level. making her look up. Tears were streaming down her face endlessly but a wry smile played on her lips. She pulled them into a tight hug, crying into their shoulders, and sobbing with no relent. It was the first time Poe had ever seen her cry. 

He wraps his arms around Rey and Finn, and Finn does the same. His skin tingles from the warmth of his friends, and he feels tears also escaping from his eyes. Rey's scent is as comforting as it had always had been, and Finn's arm around his waist is strong and alive.

They made it.

++

Finn is thrown off to the ground by Kylo, the Force knocking he and Poe down. He thinks he broke something but he can't be so sure. Even if he did, it didn't matter, because nothing will compare the searing pain he feels on his back from being thrown off, a reminder of that encounter he had with Kylo Ren a long time ago. He wills himself to get up. He was trained as a jedi to keep getting up, this isn't how he was supposed to act like.

His lightsaber is just right there, he just had to summon it. He stretches his hand to get it, but his back hurt too much to. He looks at Poe, who he can feel is hurting through the Force. He tries to get Rey to get up through their Force connection, but he can feel her insecurity blocking them from her. Rey isn't budging and Poe is hurt, and Kylo has the upper hand — he has to get up and do what he was meant to do.

Then he feels Rey. He feels her light flow through him, feels her open up again. He doesn't feel her insecurity anymore. When he looks to see her, his eyes widen as she takes hold of Kylo's red lightsaber and plunges it into his chest. He feels her anger at him through the Force, and feels Kylo slip away, death at his door. Finn feels that there is no regret in Rey, and instead he feels her emotions come like a tidal wave. Now that it was over, she can let everything out and be free.

He looks back at Poe, who was also as surprised as Finn, and feels his happiness. Finn felt at ease with the fact that Poe was alright. If anything, that was all that Poe ever wanted Poe to feel. He wanted Poe to always be happy, as happy as he made Finn feel. Poe never liked taking things easy, wanting to always prove himself and do the best that he can do in everything. 

Poe was the person who brought Finn to Rey, to Leia, to the Resistance. Poe gave him a name. Poe gave him a purpose. After living most of his life in the hell that was the First Order, he had been scared of what life was going to be in the Resistance. The chance that it might be worse than living in the First Order had Finn running away at first, but when Poe opened his arms wide and welcomed a mess like Finn in, Finn took the risk. And he was happy he took the risk. His life so far was better.

With Rey too, his life was great. She comforted him when Poe couldn't, and understood him as well as Poe did. Ever since they met on Jakku, they got along like fire. Rey was like his younger sister, his best friend, and she always comforted him with her presence alone. They even trained under Leia together to become jedis.

And although Poe and Rey bickered all the time, they got along too. Whether it was working on the Falcon or beating Chewbacca in a hologame, they bonded well like glue. Finn wouldn't be the man he was now if it weren't for them. They were his family. 

He was happy that they all had a second chance at living. There was going to be more to deal with to finally smooth everything over, but Finn deemed they should be allowed a bit of happiness for being able to at least end it all with them still alive.

He would be beside himself if he hadn't told Poe what he felt for him before succumbing to death. He wished he was able to say it earlier, admit it to his pretty face and be able to kiss him maybe, but everything was going too fast for him to actually confess. Now, he finally had a chance to, and he didn't need to put his guard up anymore. For everyone in the whole galaxy, those days will now be long over.

Poe looks at him, and he smiles, relief on his charming face and Finn can't help but smile back. They really made it, and Finn can't stop repeating it in his mind. They made it. He can't be more grateful than he was at that point.

He forces himself to stand up even if it's too painful to. The pain can be remedied later. He steels himself from collapsing right then and there and lets himself be pulled into a hug. Finn can feels Rey's tears fall onto his wet his clothing but he couldn't care less. The feeling of one of Rey's hugs feels the same as it always has, pleasant and makes Finn feel like floating on a cloud. He can't help but tightly wrap his arms around Rey and Poe, and feel their warmth, grounding him to the moment.

For the first time, Rey let herself be vulnerable in front of them. It isn't the first time he has seen Rey cry but this time is different. She wasn't the only one crying. Poe was, too. Finn could sense that they were crying because of utter happiness. Finn wasn't one to cry, but he let himself. The First Order wasn't going to touch him again and they cannot tell him what to do anymore.

He was his own person now, he owned his body. Of course, his body still operates the same way it used to back in the First Order, but it's just muscle memory. He makes his own choices and does what he thinks is right. In the Resistance, they don't tell you what to do: they make you realize what it is that you have to do.

He turns to see a teary Poe, who has a soft smile on his face, looking back at him. A teary Poe, who is solid and is right next to him and Rey. Poe is shaking slightly, either from being emotional or just from exhaustion, but he still smiles so gently and so beautifully, his lips curving up in the most Poe way.

And then Finn sees — he doesn't hear, he sees — what Poe has to say. 

'I love you,' He mouths, and Poe's lips turn up lto a happy grin. Poe looks youthful, like he isn't in his late 30's. Finn remembers that look from when they met again on Dagobah, a long time ago, when Poe gave Finn his jacket. Finn feels butterflies pool in his stomach, his heart racing. He smiles even wider back at Poe. 'I know,' He mouths back. The look Poe gave him is something he will remember for a lifetime. 

And so he hugs Rey and Poe even tighter, even closer, wanting to frame the moment and freeze it in time forever.

It was finally over.

+

Rey doesn't hear Poe and Finn say the words, but she feels them say it. The Force is stronger than ever, and she feels it in the ground, the air, the sky, and in Poe & Finn. It was all calm, finally, for the first time in a long while, and for once, she can feel herself relax. When her friends hug even tighter, she does too. 

It feels so safe.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

> this is so fucking long oh my god. it was worth it tho


End file.
